Reading old editions of _The Pentax Way_ causes one to come up with some strange questions:
There's a note that the 50/1.4 ST and SMCT can be badly damaged if it's used on a Spotmatic with a green "R" on the rewind knob. SL, S1a and SV models with green "R" are also dangerous, but it seems that Spotmatics with a red or orange "R", Spotmatic II/F/500/1000 and ES/ESII models are safe. Is this because the rear element of the 50/1.4 - which projects a fair way when the lens is at infinity - can be hit by the mirror? Presumably the models compatible with the 50/1.4 had the mirror moved back a little to clear it? Certainly, the mirror in my green R Spotmatic is closer to the lens mount than the mirror in my Spotmatic F. A couple from an edition that I no longer have: Did the SMCT 85/1.9 have full-aperture metering connections? Did the SMCT 85-210/4.5? I ask because they were exceptions to a warning about SMCTs on "some non-Pentax bodies", where the aperture indicator lug could collide with the mirror. -- PDML means I get more e-mail than spam!
